On 13 May, the 4th seminar on carbon footprint measurement was held online by the Öko-Institut to discuss advancements and challenges in measuring the carbon emissions of NOCs. In addition to discussions on the scope and results of footprint measurement, valuable inputs on carbon compensation and offsetting were presented, helping NOCs work on their reduction strategies.
Tobias Wagner from the Öko-Institut kicked off the seminar with an overview of the project's phases over the past months. Two months after the meeting in Lausanne, Climate Action Officers have had the opportunity to raise any remaining questions on the scope and results of their carbon footprint measurement. Tobias Wagner presented updates to the Excel tool, which has been improved to fit better with users’ feedback. The updated tool will be available for NOCs in the Autumn, while the online tool will be ready by the end of the year.
As the NOCs started to draft their carbon reduction strategies, the inputs on carbon compensation and offsetting presented by Martin Cames from the Öko-Institut have been valuable information to help the Climate Action Officer in this process. He discussed the broader context of climate responsibility versus climate compensation and highlighted the challenges involved in purchasing offset credits and the risk of greenwashing. In fact, he warned the Climate Action Officers about the reliability of re-forestation projects in terms of offsetting and advised that these kinds of projects should be approached with caution when used as offsetting mechanisms.
The NOCs are now expected to develop their reduction strategies, the adoption of which is scheduled for Spring 2025. Seminar 5 will be held online in Autumn 2024, followed by Module 5 and a project meeting in Prague in December.
The 18 Climate Action Officers engaged in the OCEAN Project started to develop their NOC’s carbon footprint reduction strategy, during a 3-day meeting in Lausanne.
From 18 to 21 March, the Climate Action Officers from the 18 partner National Olympic Committees (NOC) met in Lausanne to assess the progress made and acknowledge the first successes, one year after the launch of the OCEAN project (Olympic Committees of Europe Approaching Carbon Neutrality).
The 18 Climate Action Officers discovered their organisation's carbon footprint after working together with the Öko-Institut on the measurement over the last twelve months. It allowed them to understand their main sources of emissions and to engage in several discussion rounds with the Öko-Institut and Julie Duffus, from the IOC, on how NOCs can move forward in their transition and join the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework. After learning about the main steps of the carbon reduction process, the NOCs’ Climate Action Officers reflected on potential objectives to set and measures to take.
Jon Wyatt’s shared experience as Sports Director at the International Hockey Federation (FIH), managing his organisation's sustainability department gave the OCEAN Consortium valuable information to consider on how to manage the process of implementing a carbon reduction strategy. On this basis, Climate Action Officers were fully equipped to start drafting their carbon footprint reduction strategy.
The results of the NOCs’ carbon footprint measurement will be shared publicly in the course of this Spring, following which the Online Tool for carbon footprint measurement will be revealed to the public at the end of the year. In the meantime, Climate Action Officers are to finalise their NOC’s carbon footprint reduction strategy. The OCEAN Project will conclude in April 2025.
The third Consortium Call took place on January 23. The EOC EU Office organised this online conference to set up a feedback session on the various actions that have been implemented since the second Consortium Call in November and to give a summary of the tasks that would be coming up.
The Öko-Institut has presented the progress made in collecting data from each NOC. It should be submitted, reviewed and finalised before the next step of the OCEAN project, scheduled in Lausanne at the ANOC and IOC Headquarters from 18 to 21 March. Module 3 of the Training Course aims to enable NOCs to understand their carbon footprint, using the data analysis provided by the Öko-Institut and thereby start to elaborate a carbon reduction strategy.
In the meantime, Climate Action Officers will be asked to share some examples of good practices that they may have already implemented within their organisation.
On 12 December, the 3rd Online Seminar focusing on Carbon Footprint measurement occurred, led by OCEAN's scientific partner, Öko-Institut. The primary goal was to unveil the initial findings of the carbon footprint measurement, fostering a platform for Climate Action Officers to engage in discussions and share experiences related to gathering essential data within their NOC. Partner NOCs are in the final stages of data collection, while Öko-Institut is completing the reception process, poised to integrate the data for the comprehensive finalization of the measurement tool by the NOCs.
Following an overview of the data collection status provided by the Öko-Institut, partner NOCs were given the chance to exchange insights on their respective experiences with the data collection process. The consortium addressed key queries, including: 1) Assessing the level of effort involved in data collection; 2) Identifying aspects that were relatively straightforward during the process; 3) Highlighting challenges encountered in data collection; and 4) Proposing potential enhancements for the measurement tool.
Climate Action Officers stated to have provided more effort than expected on the data collection process due to the proportion and variety of data to collect. The consortium encountered obstacles regarding the calculation of the data, for which the use of online platforms was identified as a potential solution, especially regarding indicators for commuting. More importantly, Climate Action Officers were recommended to use estimates of travels and roughly compile reported numbers, rather than seeking the exact detailed data. To improve the measurement tool, partner NOCs will use a collaborative document for options for improvements regarding the data collection. The consortium was overall confident about future measurements (i.e. for 2024) as they are now equipped with adequate processes and tools to collect the necessary data within their NOC.
During the concluding part of the meeting, the Öko-Institut delivered an overview of the initial findings from the carbon footprint measurement, encompassing an overview of relevant terms within the context of carbon footprint assessment, along with a discussion on methodological choices and their implications. The conclusive results of this measurement are slated for presentation in March 2024, during Module 3 of the Training Course in Lausanne.
The final words of the meeting were dedicated to set the next steps of the project. The OCEAN consortium will convene virtually in January 2024, anticipating the forthcoming in-person meeting scheduled for March 2024 to kick off Module 3 of the Training Course for Climate Action Officers.
The OCEAN project is moving forward after completing the second module of the Training Course for Climate Action Officers, organised by Lina Taylor, Olympian and Founder of Climate Executive Coaching. Climate Action Officers from each partner NOC had the opportunity to receive advice on leadership in sustainability from Climate Executive Coaching professionals as well as distinguished visitors over four weeks. OCEAN was honoured to have Nigel Topping, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion, Julie Duffus, IOC Sustainability Senior Manager, and Jon Wyatt, Sport and Sustainability Director of the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
Week 1 – Leading for Sustainability in Sport
Climate Action Officers shared their wishes regarding their NOC's environmental future as well as the difficulties they are facing when working on their NOC’s footprint. Coaches presented the "leadership value chain" to discover viable choices for a more sustainable sports governance. Climate Action Officers were given coaching tips that included key leadership qualities on how to get everyone on board.
Week 2 – Change Management Skills – Building Opportunities
OCEAN welcomed Jon Wyatt, Sport and Sustainability Director of the International Hockey Federation (FIH), who shared its management expertise and emphasised on the importance of effective communication across different levels of sports organisations, particularly between athletes and leadership boards. Furthermore, Climate Action Officers were presented with various personality types and how to use different communication techniques according to the interlocutor through practical exercises.
Week 3 – Culture Change Skills – Transformation Through Storytelling
The third session of the Training Course aimed to provide Climate Action Officers with information on how to implement a cultural shift towards greener sports. OCEAN had the privilege of hosting Nigel Topping, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion, whose role is to strengthen collaboration and drive action from businesses, investors, organisations, cities and regions on climate change, and coordinate this work with governments and parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Nigel Topping stressed the significance of good narrative and alignment of interests among many stakeholders when tackling sustainability strategy in sports.
Week 4 – Business Case for Sustainability in the Olympic Movement
Climate Action Officers had the opportunity to interact with Julie Duffus, IOC Sustainability Senior Manager, who discussed the business aspects of sustainability in sports with Manuel Parga, NOC of Spain, and Climate Executive Coaching experts. Climate Action Officers identified the beneficial impact that investing in sustainability can have on sports organisations.
The OCEAN project is thankful for the involvement of Climate Executive Coaching in this Module 2, whose specialists will continue coaching Climate Action Officers in the following weeks, this time in the format of individual meetings. The journey of OCEAN Climate Action Officers throughout the OCEAN project will continue with Module 3 in March 2023, when the consortium will assemble in Lausanne at the IOC and ANOC headquarters. Meanwhile, the Öko Institute will host Seminar 2 on carbon footprint measuring in December.
Another event punctuated the OCEAN project agenda as on the 20th of September was held the first consortium call. This online meeting was led by the EOC EU office in order to establish a first feedback session on the different actions already initiated and provide an overview of upcoming tasks.
Looking forward to the next training courses and the future module provided to the Climate Action Officers, the date and speaker of the October sessions was shared. Lina Taylor, a former Olympian and currently Climate Coach will be in charge of this session.
Afterwards, the discussion moved to the expectations and challenges faced by the consortium members in the implementation of the carbon footprint measurement. Potential obstacles expressed revolved around the comprehensive approach of measurement which requires time and a specific methodology. However, at the end of the OCEAN Project, the Climate Action Officers will have sufficient knowledge and expertise to calculate the carbon footprint of their organization on their own.
The next step of the OCEAN project is scheduled to take place during the month of October with the beginning of the Module 2.2. In the meantime, Climate Action Officers will start the complete carbon footprint measurement of their organization, following the recommendations established during the 2nd Seminar by the Öko Institut.
On 31 May, the first online Seminar on carbon footprint measurement of the OCEAN project was held. Measuring the carbon footprint of all 18 partner NOCs is one of the key objectives of the project. The process will last until 2024 and is accompanied by the Öko-Institut that provides know-how and experience in measuring carbon footprints for sport entities.
The first Seminar focused on the preparation of the measurement. In anticipation of the Seminar, all partner NOCs filled in a questionnaire about the structure of their respective organisations (e.g., number of staff, existence of subsidiary entities). After a short introduction to the basic principles of carbon footprint measurement and the different types of greenhouse gases, the findings of this questionnaire were presented by the Öko-Institut. These findings indicate a high level of heterogeneity between the participating NOCs which is an important factor for the process of measuring the carbon footprint.
For the main part of the Seminar, the experts from Öko-Institut discussed the scope of the carbon footprint, i.e., the different kinds of sources for CO2-equivalent-emissions which are included in the calculation, with the participants. As the process of assessing an organisation’s carbon footprint and collecting data involves a consequent amount of work, the process is divided into smaller parts, namely emissions from headquarters, other locations, organisation of and participation to events and Olympic Games.
The participants engaged in an intensive and productive discussions about elements that should be considered for the measurement. As every NOC is unique, the questions also covered a variety of topics. At the end of the discussion, the project-team got an overview of all the open questions, that need to be clarified to conduct the measurement in the best and most accurate way.
This measurement process was further presented by the Öko-Institut after the first discussion. The spreadsheet for collecting a first portion of data on business travels and energy consumption had been distributed before the Seminar. NOCs used the Seminar to ask for clarifications and give feedback on the contents and the availability of the requested data within their organisations.
Next steps
Eva Rebmann (Project Manager OCEAN-project) concluded the meeting by giving an overview of next steps within the project regarding the carbon footprint measurement as well as the training course for Climate Action Officers.
The training course will continue online in October 2023, before Module 3 of the Training Course for Climate Action Officers takes place at the IOC and ANOC Headquarters in Lausanne in Spring 2024.
In the meantime, the data collection for the 18 partner NOCs’ carbon footprint measurement will continue before the first results can be analysed in 2024.
The OCEAN Management Team congratulates all 18 Climate Action Officers for their commitment to making our sport more sustainable!
